Filed under: Portable Audio

“Sonoro” and “absurdly expensive” have always gone hand-in-hand, but even we’re a bit taken aback by the sticker on this one. The company’s latest example of extravagance is the elements stardust, an “exclusive” AM / FM / MP3 clock radio that’s smothered from one end to the other in Swarovski crystals. This thing’s not all looks, though — it’s got a LED-illuminated metal ring for quick-touch control of tuning and volume, a full-range speaker, and an integrated bass reflex tube. Too bad you’ll have to sashay down to Saks Fifth Avenue with $2,500 and an evil grin in order to take one home.

[Via Blast]

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Filed under: CES, Features, Home Entertainment

Sonoro has been hawking its appropriately named “cubo” clock radio in Europe for a while now, a fashionable little beast that comes in a wide variety of colors (seriously, check the gallery) and packs a bassy punch. CES 2008 marks the German firm’s first official entrance into the US market, where it will be first selling the original cubo — just your standard AM / FM / CD device — and then following on with a series of more interesting devices later in the year. We had a chance to check out the new models, the cubo elements and cubo fusion, and we’re dazzled by their glossy sheen, giant, HAL-like controls, and bright, attractive displays. The cubo elements will be available in both AM / FM and FM / internet radio versions, the latter of which is compatible with an external dock for controlling and charging the iPod of your choice (though the AM / FM model has an AUX in, so you can still pipe in your external tunes that way). The cubo fusion ups the ante with an integrated iPod dock — no external accessory necessary — and a CD player, but loses the internet radio which could be a deal breaker for some folks. Have a gander at the gallery here, and notice the white gloves all the Sonoro peeps are wearing — they take that black lacquer finish pretty seriously!

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